Season 49, Game 23
San Antonio 94, Toronto 97
18-5, 2nd in the West
Here is a short list of Raptors players who killed the Spurs in this game:
• DeMar DeRozan
• Kyle Lowry
• Luis Scola
• Bismack Biyombo
• Patrick Patterson
Here is a short list of things the Spurs did better than the Raptors in this game:
•
(It’s a very short list, as you can see.)
It appeared to be ‘just one of those nights’ when the energy isn’t there, the bounces aren’t there, and you just can’t get over the hump. Looking at all indicators, the Raptors destroyed the Spurs tonight.
And yet there San Antonio was, down 3 with less than a minute to play.
So I don’t know how to feel about this game. Toronto is a very good team, and there is no shame losing to them on their floor. The fact that San Antonio was able to hang tough, keep it close, and make it a game down the stretch is pretty impressive.
But watching the game was oh so frustrating. The Raptors shot 58% for the game. Biyombo and Scola combined for 26 points (they average 14 combined). DoRozan – often derided by the analytics community for his inefficient play – just tortured us to the tune of 28 points on 10-15 shooting. Toronto made 20 of 22 free throws.
More esoterically, every shot they put up seemed to gently bobble on the rim and fall in. Every shot the Spurs put up bounced hard 3 or 4 times and fell off. The Spurs had multiple possessions where they had at least 4 shots, and couldn’t convert one. The Raptors defense was aggressive and attacking and deserves a lot of credit, but the Spurs just couldn’t hit wide open shots.
What San Antonio really needed last night was a lockdown Small Forward who can also carry the load offensively. What they got was a clearly lethargic and easily-winded Kawhi Leonard. He wasn’t himself, and it’s understandable coming off two days of food poisoning. The team needed his defense on DeMar, and it just wasn’t there. The team needed his attacking offense and shot making on offense, and it just wasn’t there. In the absence of Kawhi, there wasn’t enough to pick up the slack on either end.
So we move on. I can’t go back and will one or two of those shots for Toronto to roll off the rim, or one or two to roll in for the Spurs. A loss was coming, and now we get ready for the next game.
A few more thoughts from tonight’s game:
• Also playing a pretty poor game: Tim Duncan. He seemed a bit out of the flow, as well. He didn’t play in the final quarter, and I’m ok with that. Aldridge needs reps in crunch time, and tonight was his turn.
PHOTO: REUTERS/JOHN E. SOKOLOWSKI – USA TODAY SPORTS
• Manu, on the other hand, played a fantastic game. His energy and will kept us in the game for 3 1/2 quarters. Of course, his ill-advised 3 with about 2 minutes left that had no chance of going in might have been the subtle turning point that killed any comeback attempt. But these are the vagaries you have to live with when it comes to Manu. Overall, I’m impressed by how fresh and spry he looks this season, and how much he still adds to the team, particularly anchoring the second unit.
• The defense wasn’t great overall, and the Raptors two guards obliterated us. But after giving up 17 points in the first 6 minutes, Toronto scored 80 for the rest of the game, which averages out to about a 91 point performance. So the D wasn’t terrible. But down the stretch of the game, there were just a few too many mistakes and miscommunications. It’s part of the learning process, particularly for Aldridge. I’m actually OK taking a loss to get his important crunch time reps.
• Danny Green’s poor shooting is starting to infect the rest of his offense. He seems to have regressed to the Danny who can’t dribble or make any sort of slightly-above-basic pass, nor finish any shot while he is moving (which is doubly bad, since he can’t hit a jump shot, either). His defense still gives him value, but it was his combination of long distance shooting paired with his defense that made him a special player and key contributor to a championship team. I’m officially worried about how he is gumming up the offense.
• I have a theory that the Spurs just don’t play well the further north they get. They always seem to struggle in Toronto, Detroit, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Portland (sneaky far North – higher up than Minneapolis), even Chicago. I guess we should be happy that Seattle no longer has a team.
The Spurs return home Friday night to face The Kobe Bryant Farewell Tour, accompanied by the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are just slightly above the Sixers in terms of being a “schedule win” at this point.
Go Spurs Go.
